Social Security: A Controversial Call to Raise Age of Eligibility

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Bernard Wasow was making light of the disappearance of a favorite topic of his work, Social Security. "It has sunk out of sight," says the senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a liberal think tank.

Well, not quite. Last week the American Academy of Actuaries issued a rare "public interest" statement advocating raising Social Security's age when an eligible retiree receives full pension benefits another two years to 69. (A 1983 law boosted the age gradually from 65 to 67.)

"Holding the retirement age constant is a certain prescription for future financial problems," the 16,000-member academy stated. "Raising it to reflect increasing longevity would contribute …